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203
behind these meetings was Timothy Thomas
Fortune, an African American editor and
activist in New York. 36 Fortune was well
known in African American circles and
corresponded regularly with Booker T.
Washington. He called for changes to
national laws to address failures of whites to
protect the lives of black citizens in southern
states. Further, in response to calls for black
disfranchisement, Fortune argued that if
blacks were to be removed from voting, that
representation in the House of
Representatives should be reapportioned to
reflect the diminished voting population of
southern states. 37
An issue of the Literary Digest published in New
York at the end of November, combined the violence
of the two states when it opened its long article on
“ Race Troubles in the Carolinas” with the statement
that “ more than thirty persons are said to have been
killed . . . in North and South Carolina.” “ Race
Troubles in the Carolinas,” Literary Digest ( New
York), November 26, 1898.
36 The Raleigh Morning Post noted that there was a
concerted effort in many major cities to coordinate
meetings throughout the northern states. At a
meeting in New York, the city’s ministers met to
condemn the riots, and some argued that new
Wilmington mayor Alfred M. Waddell, South
Carolina politician Ben Tillman, and Wilmington’s
new police chief Edgar Parmele should be lynched.
The ministers also took up collections to help
Wilmington blacks. Meetings were held in Buffalo,
New York, to press the president to “ interfere in
behalf of oppressed negroes in North and South
Carolina.” Yet another meeting took place in Asbury
Park, New Jersey, in which Alex Manly figured
prominently. Manly spoke at the meeting and
explained his editorial. Attendees prepared a
resolution to be sent to the president asking for
assistance and took up a collection to help Manly.
According to a telegraph sent to the Wilmington Star
from someone in New York, Manly was not asked to
speak at some meetings because it was claimed that
“ his ideas are of a somewhat radical nature and after
a conference with him it was decided that he had
better not deliver an address as his feelings might get
the better of his prudence.” Morning Star
( Wilmington), November 17, 24, 25, 1898; Raleigh
Morning Post, November 15, 1898.
37Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 13, 1898;
Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1898; New York
The largest of the meetings was held
on November 17, 1898, in New York at the
Cooper Union. At the meeting, arranged by
Fortune to coincide with similar meetings in
other states, over 6,000 people Fortune and
other African American leaders speak on the
violence. Accounts of the “ indignation
meeting,” as it was called by the Democratic
press, were circulated to a multitude of
outlets, including North Carolina papers.
The meeting adopted a series of resolutions
that protested the violence, derided state
governors of North and South Carolina for
Editorial Cartoon, New York World,
November 13, 1898.
Image Courtesy of Cape Fear Museum
their inaction, and pressured politicians for
justice. One of the leading proposals that
came from the meeting was an amendment
to the U. S. Constitution to enable the
president to step in and protect citizens from
Times, November 14, 1898; McDuffie, “ Politics in
Wilmington,” 751; Wilmington Messenger,
December 2, 1898.

203
behind these meetings was Timothy Thomas
Fortune, an African American editor and
activist in New York. 36 Fortune was well
known in African American circles and
corresponded regularly with Booker T.
Washington. He called for changes to
national laws to address failures of whites to
protect the lives of black citizens in southern
states. Further, in response to calls for black
disfranchisement, Fortune argued that if
blacks were to be removed from voting, that
representation in the House of
Representatives should be reapportioned to
reflect the diminished voting population of
southern states. 37
An issue of the Literary Digest published in New
York at the end of November, combined the violence
of the two states when it opened its long article on
“ Race Troubles in the Carolinas” with the statement
that “ more than thirty persons are said to have been
killed . . . in North and South Carolina.” “ Race
Troubles in the Carolinas,” Literary Digest ( New
York), November 26, 1898.
36 The Raleigh Morning Post noted that there was a
concerted effort in many major cities to coordinate
meetings throughout the northern states. At a
meeting in New York, the city’s ministers met to
condemn the riots, and some argued that new
Wilmington mayor Alfred M. Waddell, South
Carolina politician Ben Tillman, and Wilmington’s
new police chief Edgar Parmele should be lynched.
The ministers also took up collections to help
Wilmington blacks. Meetings were held in Buffalo,
New York, to press the president to “ interfere in
behalf of oppressed negroes in North and South
Carolina.” Yet another meeting took place in Asbury
Park, New Jersey, in which Alex Manly figured
prominently. Manly spoke at the meeting and
explained his editorial. Attendees prepared a
resolution to be sent to the president asking for
assistance and took up a collection to help Manly.
According to a telegraph sent to the Wilmington Star
from someone in New York, Manly was not asked to
speak at some meetings because it was claimed that
“ his ideas are of a somewhat radical nature and after
a conference with him it was decided that he had
better not deliver an address as his feelings might get
the better of his prudence.” Morning Star
( Wilmington), November 17, 24, 25, 1898; Raleigh
Morning Post, November 15, 1898.
37Morning Star ( Wilmington), November 13, 1898;
Chicago Tribune, November 18, 1898; New York
The largest of the meetings was held
on November 17, 1898, in New York at the
Cooper Union. At the meeting, arranged by
Fortune to coincide with similar meetings in
other states, over 6,000 people Fortune and
other African American leaders speak on the
violence. Accounts of the “ indignation
meeting,” as it was called by the Democratic
press, were circulated to a multitude of
outlets, including North Carolina papers.
The meeting adopted a series of resolutions
that protested the violence, derided state
governors of North and South Carolina for
Editorial Cartoon, New York World,
November 13, 1898.
Image Courtesy of Cape Fear Museum
their inaction, and pressured politicians for
justice. One of the leading proposals that
came from the meeting was an amendment
to the U. S. Constitution to enable the
president to step in and protect citizens from
Times, November 14, 1898; McDuffie, “ Politics in
Wilmington,” 751; Wilmington Messenger,
December 2, 1898.